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the relation between man and machine underlies much of what you hear on the radio today. Photograph by Pari Dukovic.
the street. When I listened closely, I
realized that this version was actually a
mashup with one of the many songs
that has used "Home Computer"'s
arpeggio. Maybe it was Kraftwerk,
or LCD Soundsystem, or Missy, or
someone else entirely. It didn't mat-
ter-the sound still signifies newness,
joy, and some kind of ascent.
It turned out not only that anyone
could make electronic music but that
almost everyone wanted to. Kraft-
werk is perhaps the only group that
played the Ritz in 1981 that sounds
entirely current today. Plenty of peo-
ple saw the machines coming, but no-
.
--
body else has listened as carefully to
them, or documented their strengths
as lovingly.
T his month, the Museum of Mod-
ern Art opened a retrospective of
Kraftwerk, its first for a musical act. In
the six-story atrium, Kraftwerk played
an abbreviated version of its repertoire,
in chronological order of its albums,
on eight consecutive nights. The shows
cherry-picked from each, followed by an
hour or so of the group's best-known
" Th ' " Kl
songs. ese aren t concerts, aus
Biesenbach, the chief curator at large for
the Museum of Modem Art, who orga-
nized the exhibit with the curatorial as-
sistant Eliza Ryan, explained. "It's a
retrospective; it's curated. They aren't
playing everything they ever recorded,
any more than we could:fill the museum
with every photo Cindy Sherman has
L "
ever taKen.
Demand for tickets overloaded the
Web site of the third-party vender,
ShowClix, minutes after they went on
sale. Buyers were limited to two tickets
each, and ticket holders had to show
identification to obtain a wristband re-
quired for admission, to prevent scalp-
ing. Still, listings on Craigslist showed
up immediately, offering entry in ex-
THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 30, 2012 67